Eustace, John Cretwode: A classical tour through Italy An. MDCCCII (Vol. 1) (London: J. Mawman, 1815)

Ch. IV.

THROUGH ITALY.

159

CHAP. IV.

The Brenta—Venice; its Magnificence ; Power;
Degeneracy ; and Fall—Return to Padua—-
the Environs of that City—the Fons Aponus
—Colles Euganei—Arquato—Villa and Tomb
of Petr area ; Observations on his Character.
We deferred the consideration of the neigh-
borhood of Padua, till our return from Venice,
whither we hastened in order to enjoy the few
remaining days of the expiring carnival. We
accordingly embarked on the Brenta about ten
o’clock in the morning, February the twenty-
first, in a convenient barge drawn by horses,
and glided rather slowly down the river. The
country through which it flows is a dead flat,
but highly cultivated, well wooded, and ex-
tremely populous. The banks are lined with
villages, or rather little towns, and decorated
with several handsome palaces and gardens.
Among these, that of Giovanelle at Noventa,
two miles from Padua; that of Pisani at Sira;
of Trona at Dolo; that of Bembo at Mira; and
about ten miles farther, that of Foscari of the